The following from Bloomberg News Today (Sunday):

St. Paul, Minnesota, May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Northwest Airlines
Corp., Alitalia SpA and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV may announce
a three-way international partnership at a press conference in
New York Monday.
Northwest, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, has been closely
tied to KLM, Europe's fourth-largest carrier, since 1993. While
KLM last year joined forces with Alitalia, Europe's No. 7
airline, the three carriers haven't yet announced a three-way
pact. In such a partnership the carriers could, among other
things, sell seats on each other's flights.
The carriers will likely announce moves Monday ``taking
Alitalia to the same level of involvement that KLM has with
Northwest,'' Warburg Dillon Read analyst Michael Stellwag said.
The press conference, called by Northwest, will take place
at 10 a.m. New York time. The airline said only it would announce
an ``important advance in international air travel.'' The
airlines couldn't be reached for further comment.
Northwest executives have said that the carrier is likely to
announce a new international ``Wings'' alliance later this year
that will include KLM, Alitalia and Continental Airlines Inc.,
the fifth-largest U.S. airline. The partnership would rival the
other major global alliances, Oneworld and the Star Alliance.
Airline alliances generally allow the carriers to increase
revenue by linking their flight systems to those of their
partners without any new expenditures. In addition, joining their
frequent flier programs sometimes makes the individual carriers
more attractive to customers. Carriers also can share airport
operations costs and wield more purchasing power.

Cost Savings

KLM and Alitalia said in November that their passenger and
freight partnership would generate $445 million a year in cost
savings and additional revenue.
Similarly, executives at Northwest and Continental, the
fifth-largest U.S. airline, said recently that a new partnership
they started late last year added to revenue during the first
quarter. When they first announced the link in January 1998, they
said it would produce more than $500 million in pretax income by
the end of its third year.
Last month union leaders representing more than 15,000
pilots for Northwest, Continental, Alitalia and KLM signed an
agreement to protect their interests in a pending alliance of the
carriers.
KLM shares have risen 15 percent since the start of this
year, while Alitalia shares have declined 6.5 percent. Northwest
shares have risen 25 percent over the period.